Just trying means you can survive
by akanemi
Summary: a story about naruto's childhood, and how he learns to live on his own, overcoming bad things. - yes bad summary, my first fanfic- please don't expect too much xD
1. prologue

DISCLAIMER –dont really see the reason why i need to put this cuz its obvious, but I do not own Naruto. :P 

Prologue

Naruto lived alone and his life was sad and isolated, no one had ever truly been there for him and it was because of this he had come to rely on himself and only himself. That way none could let him down like they had in the past and this suited him fine. It was painful but it made his life more bearable.

This was a sad realisation; you would not expect such a decision to be made by Naruto, a 6 year old boy. Hated by his village for reasons he could not fathom.

Up until the age of four, Naruto had been mostly protected by the Hokage. the old man would give Naruto a bed for the night and let him sleep in his office, he would even send a member of the anbu to escort him back to his home (which Naruto disliked returning to), which kept him safe from the regular attacks made on him. He knew that he was the only one whom Naruto could rely on and sought to look after him as much as he could.

Sarutobi had only introduced the idea of an Anbu escort after Naruto had one day turned up in his office hardly able to walk. His left ankle was twisted at a precarious angle and was visibly swelling, Naruto had to drag it behind him so that it scarped against the floor, tearing skin and embedding grit into the scrapes. There were bruises on his legs which looked serious and from the way the boy was standing (or rather dangerously slouching) he presumed that similar bruises trailed across his entire body.

The small boy of three had been viciously assaulted by two civilians who cornered him in an alley way after he had gotten lost in an attempt to find his way home. Naruto had recounted the tale to the man sobbing and flinching as he recalled the event. Sarutobi had known about the villagers' attitude towards the blonde but this was the first time he knew of an actual physical attack. The man felt ashamed, this was not how the yondaime had envisioned the life for his son. Not at all. He felt ashamed that he had done nothing to stop it, even though he was supposed to be the strongest. He could almost feel his heart breaking when the still crying boy in his lap told him that this was not actually the first time he'd gotten hurt

When the Hokage had inquired (in rage which was hidden behind a mask of calm) why he had not told him before, the boy had simply said "I didn't want to worry you, and besides, I must deserve it…." at this statement Sarutobi had honestly wished the ground would crush him for being so idle and ignorant against the boys antagonists. After another half hour of sobbing the small boy had succumbed to sleep, still in the man's lap. By morning he had healed already, leaving no evidence of the previous night's affair.

After that day the third imposed strict maintanance of the boy and was reluctant to let him out of his sight. So for the next year he and Naruto had become close.

Whilst Naruto stayed in the old man's office they would talk, even if it was only moaning about paperwork it made Naruto content. This old man was the only one to ever talk to him and Naruto respected him. He had put forth his whole heart to Hokage and loved him as a grandfather. He would persistently take safe haven in the office and came to see it as his sanctuary, a place where he could escape and no one could hurt him.

Naruto knew this was the happiest time of his life, which in itself was heartbreaking as it wasn't happy childhood by any standards one might have.

But this cost money and over the years Sarutobi had run out of funds to pay the ANBU escorts and Naruto was no longer permitted to stay in the tower because of numerous complaints made by certain members of the council and several ninja who had seen him taking his refuge. Sarutobi had no choice but to comply with the council's wishes after a unanimous vote and abandoned Naruto to his orphanage, isolated far from town.

Such as it was that Naruto was now alone, his innocent heart afraid of what was to come.


	2. Chapter 1, 5 years old

Chapter 1

Naruto lay on his bed, which was really just an old dirtied mattress he'd found near a dump and a holey thin blanket. He hadn't the energy to move. His eyes were sunken and slightly blackened. The blueness of his eyes seemed duller and his hair was matted to the side of his face, he wanted to eat, so desperately. he had thought of nothing else for the past two days. He needed food. He was distressingly thin and his protruding ribs were not an uncommon sight these past few months.

The pain in his belly was always bothering him and he had to do something about it. But how? Yesterday he had tried to find food, by searching in bins, but when he had not found any food he had resorted to begging. Even though he was only 5 he felt he should have known better. He knew people didn't like him.

Yesterday

People passing him glared at him in his depressing state and smiled thinly, some just out right laughed, however most just ignored him, satisfied he wouldn't last much longer. One _kind _person had given him a whole sandwich. he couldn't believe his luck, he praised the stranger and a wide smile bright enough to outshine the sun adorned his face. The stranger smiled back and walked away. Naruto began to eat, he couldn't believe it, it was even his favourite- it was pork! He greedily consumed it, after all, he didn't know when he was next going to eat. Suddenly he felt that his life was not so bad at all, and that not everyone was bad.

A few minutes later he felt queasy and light headed. The small boy felt his mood sadden but was persistent to remain optimistic _no _he denied _that was nice man, he gave me food, yummy food. He was good! _But his thoughts could not out run reality, within seconds he was violently retching up what was in his stomach as he felt the poison begin to spread through his body, but he was too late. He had managed to saunter home, avoiding passing out and ignoring the agony in his stomach and the white blindness that came with it. When he reached his bed he spasmed fiercely and his small thin body sweated, trying to get rid of the toxins. The agonizing spasms died down after what he could only guess as hours and grimly wondered if he should have been dead. He even wondered if that would have been better off. He cried himself to sleep.

Present

He managed to topple himself onto the floor and made his way to the corner of the room, dust adorning his already pathetic clothes. _I saw them yesterday, and the day before….they'll be here somewhere….they're icky but they might be able to help me! _Naruto brought himself up to sit on his knees and his eyes gleamed as he saw what he was looking for. _They're here they're here! _His eyes were looking at a family of rather large spiders scuttling across the adjoining walls. Naruto squeamishly put his hand out and captured the smallest one in his hands, feeling slightly sad he pushed his hands together, flattening the spider and killing it. _I don't want to do this… it's gonna be nasty! Please! Someone, don't let me do this! _He looked at the spider and stopped his silly prayers_. _He reluctantly but rather hastily swallowed it, deciding it would be better not to chew. The taste almost made him sick, and the feel of the legs tingling inside his throat made him cry, but he'd had worse things to happen and proceeded to eat the rest of the spiders. His tears increasing with every one he ate. Again he cried himself to sleep, no longer starving.


	3. Chapter 2, 5 years old

Chapter 2 – 5 years old

2 months after

Naruto was feeling rather content, for the past year of his life he had battled constantly against hunger, which resulted in the degrading event of eating the spiders. Just remembering it made his skin crawl. Since then he had vowed to never do such a thing again and with a renewed motivation he had set to the streets to find new ways to fend for himself.

He had now memorised the plan of Konoha and also which alley ways were or were not used, decreasing his chances of coming across anyone who might seek to harm him, but of course there were always risks and every now again he would be hurt, but to add to this they did not know where he lived, so he was always able to escape to relative safety after such times.

In his earlier explorations of Konoha he had discovered a place called Ichiraku's. It was a ramen shop that was over generous with throwing away left overs. Every time he went there, there would always be something in the trash, and most of it was untouched by insects. But it was cold. Most of the flavour had been lost and the noodles were stodgy, however, he realised quickly that it was his free pass to food that hadn't been tampered with, and in Naruto's opinion this meant that his life had taken a turn for the better. He found that not starving to death restored his optimistic personality and gave him more energy than he had before. And to be honest he did actually quite like the taste.

However, Ichiraku's was on the other side of the village from Naruto's apartment which the little boy regarded as a very bad point in deed. He would constantly have to walk down roads he wanted to avoid, and even with the aid of alleys he never managed to make three journeys consecutively without something happening. But he knew that the food was worth it. He could easily recover from whatever was done to him, no matter the pain, but food was still a rare existence to him and Ichiraku's was his only source of nourishment at this time.

Naruto had not eaten for a day and half now and he had decided he should go to get some food, deep inside him he could feel something tingling, like something bad was going to happen, but he wanted ramen and now was the perfect opportunity to go, it only just beginning to get dark so he might make it there before it midnight, then he could spend the night foraging and come back home in the morning light. Naruto thought it was a good plan. He remembered one of his talks with the Hokage a year ago and how the man had told him never to travel at night. Naruto felt a minor stab of pain in his heart for the old man whom he missed dearly, but due to his young age he put it aside as hunger pain, much like the tingly feeling he was getting. He made his way out as the sun began to set.

He was lucky that night, there was no one on the streets and in the second half of the journey he had become over excited at the thought of ramen and had begun to skip happily towards his destination. He reached the bins where his meal was kept waiting for him and dug in; he had come to love ramen over the last few weeks, despite its faults. It had kept him going and sustained his life on more than one occasion.

By now it was almost pitch black and it was getting very cold out. The thin meagre clothing Naruto had did nothing to stop it and he was shivering as he finished the last of the noodles. _I want to go home….I shouldn't have come here…I should have waited _he began to cry softly at being on the other side of the village to where he wanted to be. His longing for his tiny room overcame him so he wiped his tears and ran down the numerous roads. The cold was misguiding him and all he could think about was the warmth and stability of his home. It was moments like this that truly revealed just how much of a child he really was.

Naruto took a more direct route home, down the main streets but in his bid to get home he bumped into something and was suddenly sent reeling backwards, his back thudding against the concrete ground and was splashed with a warm liquid. He winced and immediately stood up. In the darkness he could make out four figures, but more than seeing them he could smell them, they reeked of sake. _Its ok, they know I didn't mean any harm, ill say sorry then ill run home…I'm sure they're nice people… _

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you!" he bowed deeply and made to carry on running home, still wishing for his bed. But he was instantly pushed backwards, reclaiming his previous space on the floor.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?" the first man was drunk and slurred his words. "wha' 'bout my drink you spilt..? huh?" he made to swing at the boy, Naruto closed his eyes as if it would make it not happen, he waited for the punch to connect….but it didn't. He opened his eyes to see one of the men holding back the first.

A third man looked shocked at his friend's actions

"Oi, why'd you stop him, don't you think he deserves it?"

"He's just a boy, we should help him home, not hurt him like drunken thugs" the second replied. He teeters a bit on the spot, gripping firmly on the mans arm to steady himself

"Cant you see who it is?" the fourth asked the second.

"No, I lost my glasses and the alcohol has gone straight to my head" he laughed meagrely

"IT'S THE DEMON BRAT YOU IDIOT!" the third shouted. The second let his friend's arm go, and intently stared at Naruto.

"So it is, I can see the whiskers, I'm sorry friends I did not realise it was this piece of scum" he turned to the first man, "sorry, carry on" he smiled

Naruto had nothing to say, one minute he was being helped and the next he was their prey.

The man swung his fist again, faster than before and this time it connected with small blonde who had been frozen in something akin to shock. Naruto felt the pain bloom across his check and nose, he could taste metallic blood running down the back of his throat and felt it ooze softly over his lips. Before he could cough in response he was kicked in the ribs multiple times. Naruto's blue eyes widened in shock and his mouth parted to let out a high pitched whimper. His side felt as though someone had engraved an iron bar into him and the little boy's innocent eyes began to tear. _This hurts…it really hurts…._

The men who had been watching had sadistic twisted grins on their faces and were clearly trying to find an opportunity to join in. it was given.

All four men had no weapons, but to Naruto this was not a comfort, to him hands and feet were weapons in themselves, he knew this from experience. Naruto was in agony all over and yearned to be unconscious, but he was spared no small mercy and he remained conscious to suffer. Through the haze of pain he was vaguely aware of what the men were doing. One was forcefully kicking his back while another was holding him down by pushing his shoulder down, crushing it against the ground. Another man had clambered on top of the barely conscious boy, his back to the blondes face and was bending his leg towards him, Naruto could feel it pop out of its socket at the knee and he jerked. He could not even scream, all that escaped was a harsh breath and a strangled cry. The fourth man was laughing and glee was evident in his eyes, the opposite of Naruto's. Naruto wanted to truly die, to escape this torture, anything. His plea was granted when the fourth moved towards him and brought his heavy foot crashing towards Naruto's innocent face. Naruto embraced the cold blackness that welcomed him.


	4. Chapter 3, 5 years old

Chapter 3 – 5 years old

When Naruto came to he was lying in the same spot he had been left in. it was no longer dark and he culd see the first stream of people beginning to come out of their houses. He needed to get away, they could hurt him again if he didnt. Naruto sat up, most of his wounds healed already and all that hindered him was a slight limp. He rather hurridly made his way off the main street and returned to his modest home. It took him a long time to wind his way up the stairs but he was luvky he had not encountered anyone. He reached up for the door handle and went inside just barely retaining his whimpers. He sat on his bed and wrapped his blanket round him. Memories of last night flashed in front of him and he trembled uncontrollably.

He wondered what he had done to deserve this, in his short existence he had done nothing wrong and yet people treated him so _evilly_. He withdrew further into the blanket and closed his eyes, willing the memories to stop coming, to find their way away from him. But no matter how he tried they remained fresh to antagonise him. He heard a soft thump outside and he jumped up off the bed, a vivid image of the foot bearing down on his face sprung up and Naruto let out a shriek, his heart immediately racing in reaction to the recollection.

After his heart slowed down to normal pace he realised that the soft thump was just a kitten that had clambered across his window sill. He ignored the feline and dropped the blanket, he noticed his hands and arms were dirty and bloody but the wounds gone without a scar. He wanted to be clean, _maybe then I'll forget the bad things. _he limped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, the water was freezing cold but he had never known any different so he stepped in, still wearing his clothes, after all , they needed cleaning too.

After scratching off the dirt and blood the water stopped, _it always does that…it would be nicer if it lasted longer _. He stepped out creating a puddle around him, he had nothing to dry himself with and shivered as the cold water continued to drip off of him. He sat in the small patch off light his window gave him and waited to dry, it didn't take too long, it was a warm day.

Now that Naruto was clean and dry he felt better, but couldn't bring himself to be rid of the images yet, but to his relief they were getting fainter.

For some reason unknown to Naruto he felt the need to be around people, so despite what the people did to him he would always end up venturing outside, looking for someone, anyone who would talk to him. Even after a year of nothing he still persisted to do so. He stood steadily, his leg now fine and smiled, looking at the sun he thought _today there'll be a nice person and it will be nice day and I'll have a nice friend!_

He walked out of his apartment and shut the door behind him. He then crept into small roads with lots of corners in a bid to get to Market Street. He knew that there were lots of people there but he could easily hide behind the stalls, this way he could be around people but they couldn't hurt him. He would hide there until he saw someone who looked nice enough to talk to. Soon enough there was a girl who was about his age walking with her mother, the mother led her to the fruit stall and begun conversation with the vendor. While she was busy the girl had turned and spotted Naruto who was waving and smiling brightly at her. The girl took in his appearance, she noticed first the blonde hair, it stood out from out the crowd, as did the unnaturally bright blue eyes. Her eyes then drifted to his feet, she noticed he was bare foot, he had no shoes. she also noticed the boy was thin, too thin, but looked otherwise healthy. She thought he might be lost and hr mother had always taught her to help those who needed it.

She smiled weakly back, not knowing who this other enthusiastic boy was. At this, Naruto smiled as if he had just been given a present and his eyes sparkled. The girl made his way over to Naruto, after a quick check her mother was still pre pccupiede with talking.

"who are you?" asked the girl shyly.

"Naruto!" he relplied, struggling to keep his voice quiet, "whats yours?"

"Sakura Haruno"

Naruto looked at sakura, she was nice! He had finally done it, he had found a nice person! _Shes my first friend! _

"do you want to come eat ramen with me?" he asked, restraining himself from making a big scene and attracting attention.

"I have to ask mummy." And she turned to walk back to her mother, pulling on her skirt to be noticed. "mummy can I go eat ramen with Naruto?" she pointed to naruto "Please?" she asked. Her mother looked shocked and picked up her daughter, she walked to Naruto.

"keep away from my daughter demon boy, you'll contamintate her!" she slapped him on the cheek and walked away, people had heard the woman's raised voice and watched the scence, their eyes drawn to the blonde boy. Sakura was shocked and stared at the boy over her mother's shoulder as she was taken away. Everyone was now looking at Naruto with disgust he could hear them all murmuring_… 'look at him…he's vile'… 'he should be killed to save the children!' …. 'demon' …._ The mutterings then rose slightly and bcame louder…_ 'did you see he just tried to hurt that girl!' …. 'my goodness, I never thought the brat would actually to poison someone his own age!'…. 'Preposterous, something must be done!_'

Naruto suddenly felt closed in like he was being crushed slowly. He wanted to run and hide, nothing bad happened when he hid. His feet stayed where they were, the stares of the villagers freezing him to the spot. Only when one tried to grab him did he come to his senses and weaved his way through the onlooking crowd, he was small enough to slip by most without trouble, but some of the more angry villagers chased him.

His thoughts turned again to last night, he didn't want that to happen again so he ran as fast as he could but it wasn't enough, they were catching up. He wasn't sure where he was running, his legs propelled him without thought, too late did he realise that he was leading them directly to where he lived. Too soon had he entered his home with the villagers after him. No malnourished 5 year old could out run healthy grown adults.

They kicked and slammed against his door, trying to make their way through, but the sturdy door held and kept Naruto sealed away from them, Naruto had instinctevly curled against the the wall opposite the door trying to back away as far as possible. He prayed for them to go away, the bangs slowed down and became less powerful. Naruto felt a little relief _they're going away, they're stopping… _then he heard a venomous comment through the wood.

"we know where you live now demon.." a chorus of laughs followed. Minutes later Naruto had finally processed his situation. _They'll come back._

The next morning naruto woke after a fitful sleep from his bed. His stomach rumbled not having eaten the previous day and all the running had hungered him further. He ignored his growling tummy and drank some water from the rusty tap, he had to tiptoe to reach and drank from his hands, but as usual he was used to it.

His eyes strayed to the door and worry glinted in his mind _will they come back and do bad things? I didn't mean for them to find my home... maybe they'll be nice and forget! _He wanted that to be true but he knew really that his worry was for good reason and that they'd come.

His stomach brought him out of his thoughts and gained his attention. Naruto wanted to eat but he wanted to stay home for the day, just for a little while to avoid the bad people. He decided this was a good plan and clambered back into bed. He wasn't tired but it was warm and gave him comfort.

Memories of the old man oddly came to him and naruto realised it had been a long time since their goodbye. He counted counted the months on his fingers, he was slow to work it out but finally figured that it had been just over a year. He wanted to speak to him again. _I know he's a nice a person. He'd talk to me and he'd talk nice things, not bad like other people. Old man is nice._

Naruto wondered how he could manage to speak to him. It was obvious that he couldn't come to visit so he'd have to go to him... Naruto thought it out in his head and begun to form a plan that might grant him his wish.

It was a simple plan, even for a five year old, but it would probably work. He hoped it would.


	5. Chapter 4, 5 years old

Chapter 4 – 5 years old.

It was nearing midday when he decided to put his plan into action. He had stealthily made his way towards the walls of the Hokage's tower and the steps leading up were in his line of sight – as were two shinobi guarding the staircase. But that didn't bother him in the slightest, in fact they might help his plan – but it wasn't needed.

Naruto decided to put his extraordinarily simple idea to reality. At the top of his voice he yelled. And it was very loud.

"Jiiiiii-chaaaaan!"

His lungs were slightly constricted and he was now taking deep breaths but his plan had worked. The Hokage had heard the young boy and was now leaning out of his office window looking down, with nothing but incredulous shock on his face.

The two guards had come running to find out the source of the disturbance and were no less shocked than the Hokage. Lucky for Naruto the guards did not quite gather who it was but the Hokage obviously had and within a few seconds had descended from his paper work plagued dwelling and was dismissing the guards to go back to their duty.

Naruto was more than elated at _finally _seeing his favourite person in the whole wide world again and almost tackled the man to the ground. If he was a normal five year old with more weight it would have undoubtedly have happened. The Hokage was over his initial shock but was saddened at how much more thin Naruto had become despite the obvious energy the boy contained. His report on the boy had not mentioned this. He would have words with council. Long words.

"Jii-chan!" he said gripping the older man in a hug. "I missed you!"

When the Hokage did not immediately return the gesture Naruto loosened his grip and stepped backwards, looking down at the floor – obviously feeling something wrong.

"Didn't you want to see me?" a worried voice asked.

"I did Naruto, I just was a bit distracted" he said _at how I can feel your bones even through my thick robes..._

_ "_Good then!" he said brightening up drastically. "Jii-chan?"

"Yes Naruto?"

"Can you come see me more...because you're a nice person and some people are nasty which makes me sad..." he said it quietly as if expecting a rejection.

The Hokage felt immense guilt come over him in waves and it was his turn to look at the floor. Shame also flooded him and he knew he should have done more to oppose the council despite 'village name' on the line and being too busy to even have one visit. He could have made time. He should have.

He thought on his answer to Naruto's request.

"Of course Naruto. I'll come to you more. A lot more. I'm sorry I hadn't checked on you this past year. I don't have any excuses to cover my absence from you." He looked the boy in the eyes and was met with an almost frighteningly wide grin.

Naruto was happy to say the least, he wasn't quite sure what some of the words meant that the Hokage had used but to him the meaning was clear enough and made again to hug the old man. This time it was responded to with a tight hold.

"Hey, Naruto" he said to grab the boys attention to his face. "Do you want to go get some food?" _of course he does. He's nothing but a bag of bones. He doesn't even look five, he looks at most four. I'll make sure he eats his fill tonight._

The boy broke the hug but locked hands and was almost jumping up and down. He nodded enthusiastically and the two set off towards their destination.

As they were walking the Hokage noticed that the boy seemed to get nervous when they came to crowded areas and shied away from almost anyone. This worried him greatly and decided to use his tact later on to find out why the boy did so. He had obviously heard the boy earlier that some people were 'nasty' but the council had assured him that the boy was isolated. Isolated, but safe.

_Flashback. – Naruto is four years old, still has his sanctuary._

_The Hokage was more than a little annoyed. He had been working on paper-work all day and was coming to the end of the stack when a young shinobi had added a further 4 inches of folders to the pile. This was of course after babysitting his grandson all night who seemed to want to prove to the whole of Konoha that he had learnt to say the phrase 'I like candyfloss' which had – needless to say- resulted in a sleep free night. To say the least he was irked but the feeling was tripled when the council had summoned him to an urgent meeting. Yes. He would be working all night again, just when Naruto had turned up and decided to take over his couch._

_He arrived at the conference room feeling tired but nevertheless walked in and sat in his chair._

_ "What is so urgent to summon me when I have heard of no ill goings-on?" his tone was forceful and decided to show the aggravation he felt._

_ Koharu, who was one of the oldest on the council, and had a general aura of snobbery and condescendence, answered._

_ "Lord Hokage, we – the council – have taken notice that you have been showing unfair favouritism to the jinchurukii. It has been a unanimous decision that you should no longer offer him the equivalent of a vacation home that other orphans of Konoha do not have and yet clearly more deserve. The Uzumaki has been accepted in to an orphanage far away from the town centre where he shall be isolated away from certain people who wish to harm him. We of course only wish the best for the boy and moving him there to a safe orphanage would be in everyone's best interests." Koharu's voice was slick and the Hokage could almost feel the disdain for the boy dripping off them._

_ The Hokage was not fooled by Koharu's words he knew that the council did not care about the welfare of Naruto , they were most likely pleased that boy __was__ harmed and he could only think of three reasons why they would impart relative kindness to him._

_They wanted him away from the village so that no-one could associate with him and they would be able to keep a close eye on him. – Which Sarutobi suspected would give them an excuse to enforce the law harshly on said boy. Which would probably result in a death or exile sentence – no matter how small the 'offense' may be._

_They could not bear the thought of the leader of the village giving a home to the 'demon child', the village pariah, which would defile the name of 'Konoha' and give the appearance of weakness – this was most likely the main reason._

_The council were trying to lure Naruto into a false sense of security so they could turn him into a weapon._

_The third reason was perhaps far-fetched but other hidden villages had done so and more than half the members of the council would jump at ANY chance to make the ultimate force loyal to the village._

_The Hokage thought on the matter and the more he explored the 'offer' he began to think of possible advantages. For one, as the council had said he would be isolated which although, to them, would be more directed to ignoring the boy, but to Sarutobi's view it would actually give the boy safety. And to add he was sure he could visit and in his absence from him sleep easy on the fact that Naruto had a home and food._

_Despite knowing the __real__ reasons the council wanted the boy out of the way it could actually work out better for him than they intended. Reluctantly he gave his opinion, it would maybe unfortunately put the grip of the council tighter on him, but to protect Naruto he would risk it._

"_Fine." Twisted smiles filled the room, and the Hokage continued. "But, I will inspect the home beforehand and I will want insurance of his wellbeing. I will ask for a report every month about Naruto." He ended his terms and conditions and the council looked slightly scornful but happy they had got their way in the end._

_The Hokage had made the visit and deemed it, well, actually, quite nice, and the orphanage owner seemed to have no discrepancy towards homing the kyuubi vessel. He was also sure that the other children would befriend Naruto as they had not been subconsciously influenced by parents because they had none. _

_Naruto was to move to the home a week later. _

_All seemed well and regular reports were made to him to assure his health. It was because of this and several well-timed distractions that made the Hokage lax on his self-promised visits._

_End of flashback._

"Naruto." The boy looked up and smiled weakly, still trying to walk as close as he could to the Hokage. "You said people were nasty to you and it made you sad, are the other children mean?"

Naruto looked confused. "Jii-chan, other kids stay near their mummies and daddies. They don't talk to me...so they can't be that mean to me..."

The Hokage's eyes flashed with anger. _Other children stay near their parents! Naruto lives in an orphanage! They have no parents! Could it be..._

"Naruto. Where do you live?" the intense look and tone behind the question slightly scared Naruto but he knew the old man would never hurt him despite how he answered so he told the truth. And besides it was an odd question, he knew where he lived. He voiced his thoughts.

"Jii-chan, you know where I live, I live in that big place but I got a small room."

Sarutobi pace quickened a little from his anger that the council had lied to him- for a whole year no less! And had falsified reports of Naruto's well being! He didn't quite notice in his rage that Naruto was having trouble keeping up and was just about to fall when he called out. A few villagers stifled their laughs in the presence of the Hokage.

"I'm sorry Naruto." He wondered honestly how the small boy had managed to cope on his own for so long. He was now even more determined to make sure that Naruto went out for a meal. "I didn't mean to walk so fast" he put on his best fake smile he could muster. "I think I was just too hungry to wait much longer" he gave a fake laugh, but of course it sounded real to the child and Naruto laughed along with him.

"Me too Jii-chan." After a prompt he climbed onto the old man's back. Their pace a bit faster than when Naruto had been walking.

After 10 minutes Naruto had a strange feeling he knew where they were going, it was a different route but he recognised the street.

"Ne, Jii-chan. Are we going to Ichiraku's?" he said with excitement.

"Yes Naruto we are." He replied. He wondered how Naruto knew of it, had someone been unusually kind and generous and taken him there? He hoped so. If it was true he would make most sure that he tracked that stranger down and give _him _a generous reward.

"I like ichi's!" the Hokage laughed. Soon enough they had arrived. He set Naruto down walked inside.

"Welcome lord Hokage!" the ramen maker looked down to stare at Naruto. There was no hostility in his face and the Hokage had expected this, hence the choice to eat here. Naruto however had a different opinion and tried to get away from the eyes by hiding behind the Hokage.

"And who do we have here?" the ramen maker in a friendly voice directly to Naruto. "I'm Teuchi, and that's my daughter Ayame" he said pointing behind him to a girl intently focused on making ramen. Naruto continued to hide. "Come on! Don't be shy, what's your name?"

Naruto did want to answer but he felt bad, he felt guilty. He had after all stolen from this man time after time. Even though it was leftovers, but his Jii-chan had instilled in him that any kind of stealing was bad. He thought he should say sorry _he does seem like a nice person, and he'll be ok with what I did! I'm sure. _

Naruto stepped out from behind Sarutobi and almost yelled in a quaking voice 'sorry.' Needless to say both men were taken aback by the outburst and Ayame had turned round to see the almost yelling child.

"What on earth are you apologising for Naruto?" Hokage asked curiously. Teuchi shared his curiosity.

Naruto realised he was expected to explain why he stole, he thought a 'sorry' would be enough and that the man – Teuchi- would forgive him for what he was sure he knew he had done.

"I'm really sorry! But I needed it! I should have asked I'm sorry!"

"Needed what?" Teuchi asked, more confused. Nothing had been taken from him he was sure, and even if it was he doubted the skinny underfed boy would have had anything to do with it. Honestly what was this boy on about?

"Your ramen sir! I took from your bin without asking! I'm sorry but I needed it! And it was nice!" the boy's nerves on apologising had overcome him and small clear tears made their way down his cheeks.

Teuchi and Sarutobi took a moment to bring together what he said. And when it clicked they both made pitying faces at the boy. For yet another time that day the Hokage felt he could barely live with himself. That was how Naruto knew Ichiraku's! From 'stealing' trashed ramen! Teuchi looked at the boy sincerely.

"You've been eating my trash?"His voice was full of emotion.

"Yes sir. Are you mad?... I'm sorry! Stealing is wrong." He looked despairingly at Teuchi.

"Of course not! But if you want food you're always welcome to eat here! We'll make you a special guest!" Teuchi was trying to reassure the boy and would do anything to help the poor blonde. God knows he obviously needed it.

Teuchi looked at the Hokage who seemed lost in his thoughts. He drew his attention. The Hokage gave Naruto a quick embrace to tell him he needn't say sorry and wiped the tears off his face. Naruto felt better and was happy no-one was mad at him. He in all his optimistic nature decided he could be friends with this man, but to do that it would be better if Teuchi knew his name first.

He shyly – yet confidently at the same time- said

"I'm Naruto" he gave a wide grin that worked its way into Teuchi's heart and also Ayame's who'd been silently watching and feeling for the boy.

Teuchi looked at the Hokage. "I think for today I'll make my best ramen and I'll give it to you on the house!"

Sarutobi smiled and the two customers sat down at the bar. They were served their ramen, Naruto throughout eating had heavily complimented the food, but while talking had spilt much of the ramen broth down himself all the while wearing a satisfactory grin that the three adults hoped would stay.

After the meal Naruto and the Hokage returned to Naruto's small room. Naruto was overly hyperactive going up the stairs to his apartment and his Jii-chan smiled at this.

But the Hokage's short feelings of contentment wouldn't last long as he remembered they were going to Naruto's apartment, the one which should have been rightly abandoned a year ago.

Sarutobi decided. He would do everything in his power to find Naruto a loving home. And this time he wouldn't be held back by anyone.


	6. chapter 5 6 years old

Chapter 5 – Naruto 6 years old.

8 months after

Sarutobi looked at Naruto who was currently sitting on an office chair in a small clean white room. A smile tugged at his wrinkled face as he watched the boy try to restrain himself from spinning on the chair and he admit, it was hard to resist himself. They were both impatient people after all, a six year old with way too much energy and a man who was used to getting things immediately. Naruto was obviously getting more agitated from sitting still when the source of their impatience walked through the door. A kunoichi around 35 sat in the empty seat opposite them behind a desk and smiled gently.

"I am pleased to say Hokage-sama that he has shown improvement and is now a normal healthy weight for his age, although his body is still rather below average height but there is not much i or any other doctor could do to change it. I am very sorry, but on the bright side he also seems a lot happier- although i am sure you already noticed this." She gave a small laugh and gave a small smile to Naruto who was still very much trying to resist spinning and also, she realised, trying to avoid eye contact. The boy obviously still had a few social problems it seemed.

"Thank you Yoshino! It makes me glad to hear this and lightens my guilt just a little. I must reward you for fair attitude towards him and i shall also give you a higher salary for your work so far this year, after all, i know medicine isn't your forte and yet you still agreed to help." Sarutobi was honestly glad to hear these results but a little disheartened, it seemed that thanks to his own ignorance and neglection, Naruto would always be a little on the short side, but as the Nara had said, Naruto was a lot happier now and in turn this made the Hokage happy.

Naruto looked up towards him. "Jii-chan, this means I'm fine! I told you i was already! I told you! So there! You owe me ramen now jii-chan!" the child stuck his tongue out forcefully and screwed his eyes shut to confirm his statement. And it seemed he could no longer hold out and began to spin on his chair. Both adults laughed and then all three left the room- after helping Naruto to spin a bit faster of course...

Yoshino Nara bid goodbye to the two and slowly made her way out of the hospital, she wasn't needed anymore and now she could go back to her husband and son- both of whom needed a kick or two to do some housework.

As Sarutobi and Naruto walked out of the hospital they were talking to each other, Naruto rather animatedly deciding which ramen he was going to have when they reached Ichiraku's and the Hokage humouring him. Both were aware of the leers sent their way and then deflected when the presence of the village leader was noticed, but both didn't mention it and carried on walking, as if no one else was even there.

Stepping out into natural bright sunlight it made the Hokage happy how healthy Naruto looked- even more so than he had just a few moments ago in the office. He picked Naruto up as had become habit and speedily got to the ramen stand. The two were warmly welcomed but its effect was slightly lost when once again Sarutobi noted that two chuunin paid and left and a third turned away to face the wall and eat. Only one man in the food stall continued normally. The two sat down at the bar stools (the elder helping the younger to reach his seat) which happened to be in-between the man who turned away and the one who did not. Sarutobi ordered three bowls, one each and the third to share, and sat quietly waiting.

Naruto of course, as mentioned before, was impatient and was wholly swinging his legs under the surface top. Each minute his swings getting wider and more violent.

Naruto misjudged his balance on the seat and fell backwards, desperately grasping onto anything to save him from falling. He grabbed onto the chuunin, causing the man to jerk and spill his ramen everywhere and then fall onto the ground himself- somehow landing beneath Naruto to accidently break the boy's sudden fall.

The chunnin's expression was in a state of partial shock. He gathered his senses berating himself for letting down his guard while he ate. He then noticed the small boy still lying on top of him, who appeared to be paralysed in place and to be honest – quite scared. The Chuunin grumbled slightly about lost money for his ramen and gently pushed the boy off him and stood up, then proceeded to reach down for the boy.

Naruto was still not quite sure what had just happened, one minute he was sitting on the stool and the next he had forcefully pulled a man off his own stool and send them both to give the ground a greeting. He froze in place, old fear instincts kicking in telling him not to move as it would further agitate the man. He realised the Chuunin was gently pushing him off and standing and when he was up, moved towards him. To Naruto this was a scary situation, he had just attacked someone (albeit accidently) and now 'said someone' was looming over him and imposing his personal space with his great height. He squinted his eyes shut despite knowing in his heart of hearts that this stranger was not going to hurt him.

Iruka saw the blonde short boy shut his eyes and was a little confused, but proceeded to pick him up. The Hokage watched this with careful eyes, he knew of the chuunin and knew of this man's reputation of kindness, he made a decision to trust this chuunin.

"Open your eyes Naruto" Sarutobi said. Naruto did and his face showed a flicker of confusion before blushing and turning his head away from the man who was still holding him – very embarrassed.

The chuunin plopped Naruto back onto his stool and looked him over. He saw nothing to indicate that the blonde was hurt and gave a quick nervous greeting to the Hokage.

Before he could say anything else Sarutobi spoke.

"Thank you, Iruka." Naruto had stopped blushing and turned to look at the man who saved him, but their eyes didn't quite meet. He took heed of the thanks given and offered his own in a quiet almost choked voice.

The chuunin shook his head smiling. "No problem, although try not to waste any more food, it's a shame to squander something as nice as Ichiraku's ramen." Naruto's eyes flickered to the floor where Iuka's lunch had splattered and bowl broken. In the same choked voice he whispered a sorry and gave pleading eyes to Sarutobi to make it up to the man, after all he knew how rare it was to come across a person who would willingly help him and he didn't want to offend him (anymore than he already had).

_He could be my friend too! _Naruto thought. _I bet he'd be nice and i bet his mummy wouldn't tell him to be mean or go away from me! I just gotta be good and not make him mad._

Sarutobi caught onto Naruto's thoughts and offered Iruka a fresh bowl of ramen and properly introduced them to each other.

"Naruto, this is Iruka, he's an assistant teacher at the academy. Iruka, this is Naruto Uzumaki" he smiled as he saw no sign of malevolence or even a twitch of facial expression in Iruka. _Looks like i was right about trusting in Iruka's kindness._

"He's in my charge for the foreseeable future." He added.

"Nice to meet you Naruto." He held out a hand and the small boy blushed again as he tentatively took it, persistently avoiding looking in the eyes. Iruka laughed and turned his attention to Ichiraku's who was giving him his new bowl. The three ate in a slightly tensioned silence but after finishing their meals they began to talk like old friends, well, Sarutobi and Iruka at least. Naruto was apprehensive and although he wanted to talk he found himself unable to. Before he could contribute to the conversation Iruka waved goodbye and said he wished he would see them again. _Still have a chance then. Next time I'll make him a friend for sure!_

Unfortunately Sarutobi was not surprised by his charge's shy behaviour, how could he be? The boy's past had been anything but encouraging and he supposed it might have been the age difference; children were always shy around older people weren't they? But then what about Nara and Ichiraku? They were far older than Iruka and yet Naruto seemed outgoing in their presence. He pondered the problem.

"Naruto" he said. "What did you think of the man?"

"Iruka-san?" Naruto replied

"Yes, did you like him? You didn't talk a lot. I was wondering if you were okay."

Naruto glared at the ground trying to search for the words.

"I like him! Honest! I want to be his friend" he glanced up at the Hokage briefly. "I tried to talk and join in but i couldn't think of anything to say that would make him like me! And after i fell on him i thought it would be bad to say something he might not like. Sorry. "

Sarutobi sighed heavily. "Naruto, he hasn't got a bad bone in his body, i doubt you could do anything to make him as mad as what you're thinking."

Naruto looked confused. "Bad bone? Is he sick? Can i get bad bones? Is he ok? What are bad bones? Does it hurt?"

Without meaning to the Hokage let out a deep chuckle, but upon seeing the actually concerned face (and slightly annoyed at his laughing) he corrected his charge.

"No Naruto, it's a saying, i mean that Iruka does like you and I'm sure he'd like anything you had to say. Do you want to meet him again sometime?"

Naruto thought a little, knowing he for sure had another chance and with the old-man's assurances he decided yes, indeed he did.

"Where am i going tonight jii-chan? I'm tired."

This was another problem in a long list that the Hokage had yet to solve. In the past 8 months he had not been able to find a suitable and permanent place for Naruto to live, they had been together yes, and he made sure Naruto was always safe, but he needed a place to be and to call home. Naruto's so called 'sanctuary' was not a house. It was, when it came down to it, a sofa in an office. He had wanted the boy to move in with him but the seals put around his house only enabled blood descendants to enter for more than 2 days and those two days had to be at least 5 days in-between. He had tried to modify the seals but they were old, older than himself and could not find a way to change them. He thought of jiraya, a seal master, but contact between them had all but stopped 4 years ago.

"Where do you want to go?" the boy had a choice he could either go back to jii-chan's office or stay the night at Ichiraku's. The chef was always happy to put him up there, but he did not have the space for the boy to live there and moving was out of the question for him and his daughter.

"I wanna go back to my apartment. I wanna go home"

The Hokage was shocked, in the eight months he had taken charge the small boy had shown no signs of wanting his old place back. He had thought that the boy would have been more than happy to leave it; it was small dark and often vandalized. However as he thought more he realised that no matter the condition of the place it was home to the boy for the majority of his life and it protected from the village until they had found out where he had lived. However there was no way He had thought that the boy would have been more than happy to leave it, it was small, dark and often vandalized. However as he thought more he realised that no matter the condition of the place it was home to the boy for the majority of his life and it protected from the village until they had found out where he had lived. However there was no way that he could let Naruto return, that part of town got seedier every day and was sure that more often than not villagers visited in chance the 'demon' had returned.

"I wanna go home, can you take me?" he asked

"I can't Naruto. It's not a suitable place for you to grow up in. You should know it's not a very nice place." Naruto's eyes were beginning to tear a little.

"I really want to Jii-chan. Are you sure?"

"Sorry Naruto, but you just can't." Naruto furiously wiped his eyes and stayed silent.

Sarutobi asked his original question again. "So where do you want to stay tonight then?"

He didn't answer. The third felt helpless, he really needed to find a place for Naruto to live, he was 6 years old and these years were crucial to his development and psyche. If the boy was to continue house hopping he wouldn't feel safe he was sure.

_Maybe... _He thought. _Maybe Yoshino-san would be willing to take him in, i know she has a son his age and she already knows Naruto. It's a strong possibility, but that husband of hers may take some convincing. I'll talk to her first thing tomorrow morning._ "Come on Naruto, you can sleep in my office tonight, i have to do a lot of paper work anyways." He picked the 6 year old up and slowly took a shortcut. The boy was already asleep when he lowered him to the sofa.


End file.
